Overheating is one of the main issues you will encounter when off-roading, whether your preferred vehicle is a quad, a UTV, or a dirt bike. If you’re wondering “what if an atv overheats?“, read this complete guide to learn about potential long-term damage to your engine and how to cool it down successfully.
When an ATV overheats, your ATV’s fluids will start to thin out, your coolant levels will drop, and your engine oil will burn off. If your quad goes through the constant stress of overheating, it will suffer damage to its pistons, cylinder walls, and cylinder head. In the worst-case scenario, the piston melts onto the cylinder, creating irreparable damage to your engine. In order to prevent this kind of expense, when your ATV overheats you need to shut off the engine and run the fan. When your radiator cools down, start your engine so that the coolant can circulate through. Repeat the first step again, and then get going. When you arrive at your destination, check for issues with your radiator cap, water pump, coolant levels and condition, fuel mixture, and head gasket. All of these are common causes of overheating on your ATV.
There’s no doubt that an overheated ATV can lead to highly expensive fixes. This is why you need to prevent this problem right from home. Keep on reading to get a full list of precautions you can take to cool down your engine and ride without worry even on the hottest days.
What if an ATV Overheats?
To put it shortly, it’s bad. Yes, overheating is the most common problem for off-road riders, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored. On the contrary, if you are a first time ATV owner, I recommend you get well acquainted with this article. Especially if you live in a place with scorching hot summers, or if you plan to do a lot of hauling at low speeds on your ATV.
In my years of experience, I’ve picked up a new trick or two that not all off-roaders practice. But since wisdom is supposed to be shared, I’ll tell you all I know about diagnosing, solving, and preventing an overheating problem.
If your ATV has one, the overheat warning light will turn on when your engine is running too hot. This is a clear indicator that you need to stop and cool it down. If you don’t have this engine light on your quad, other common symptoms of overheating to look for are power loss, coolant spillage, and a hot case.
In case you ignore these symptoms and continue running, your oil will start burning off which will set off a ticking sound, steam will start to appear from the radiator, and your coolant will start burning releasing a sweet smell. Hopefully, you don’t run into these signs of overheating, but it’s best you know them.
In my opinion, the best thing to do in order to prevent damage to your quad is to stop right when you see coolant spillage or the engine light coming on and start cooling down your ATV.
How Do I Cool Down My ATV?
When you notice your engine overheating, what you want to do is stop on the side of the road and turn your engine off. Turn your key to allow the fan attached to the radiator to work. At this point, most people would just wait until the overheating warning light shuts off.
It’s what I used to do too. However, a few years back I met an ATV owner that attended a lot of races. Not only did he give me some great tips on keeping the engine cool (which I will share in just a sec), but also explained to me a more efficient way to cool down my ATV.
When you are letting your fan cool off your radiator, you’re actually cooling down the coolant mixture in it. But the rest of the cooling agent is still boiling in your engine. This means that you either need to sit a long time to wait for everything to cool off, or you run the risk of your engine heating up again soon after you ride off.
Well, there is quite an easy solution to this that I didn’t know about as a beginner. After your radiator cools off, you start your engine back again. In doing this, you allow your coolant to circulate between the engine and radiator. You let the engine run for a little bit, then shut it off again and start up the fan.
With this method, your entire coolant mixture will reach a decent temperature and your quad will be ready to hit the road again for hours on end.
Another quick method to cool off your engine on the go is to keep it running and spray water on the radiator. The coolant will keep flowing and the water will cool it off faster than just leaving it to air-cool. Whichever method you choose to cool down your ATV, try to position your quad toward the wind for a quicker result.
All of these tips are great when you’re out and about, but when you get home I suggest you inspect your four wheeler and determine what was the cause of overheating.
How Do I Stop My ATV from Overheating?
After you’ve diagnosed the problem, you need to find the cause. Overheating can be caused by a multitude of factors such as: dirty radiator, faulty radiator cap, broken water pump, low coolant levels, old coolant, bad coolant and water mixture, lean fuel mixture, and a blown head gasket.
The way you use your quad can put a lot of stress on it too, such as when you ride for hours in extreme heat or you use it to haul heavy cargo at low speeds. Air cooled engines can also suffer from a lot of idling on hot days.
Fortunately, you can easily avoid the last issue by shutting down the ATV when you stop on your trails. For the rest of them, I’ll get into more detail.
Here are the steps I would take to find the cause of your ATV overheating:
#1 Check Your Radiator
The most common cause of overheating is a clogged-up radiator. This part of your quad is the main component in charge of cooling, so if it’s dirty it will not do a good job.
I like checking my radiator after each trail ride I go on, especially if I know I’ve been riding in muddy conditions. I usually just clean it off with a garden hose and I’m good to go. You can also try a pressure washer or an air compressor if you have them.
In case you have some stubborn debris stuck in your fins, I recommend you use a foaming agent to push the dirt out of your radiator. Here is a helpful video from another off-road enthusiast on the YouTube channel Chad Outdoors that I feel does a great job of explaining how to use this solution to clean your radiator:
Next up, you can check your radiator cap’s pressure. Whether there is too much or too little, both can affect the way your cooling system works and leave your engine vulnerable to damage. Check the pressure indicated on the radiator cap next to the one recommended by your OEM.
In case you need to change it, I recommend adding a radiator cap with a temperature sensor, or even a high-pressure one designed for racing. This type of cap will raise the boiling point of your coolant mixture, protecting your ATV from major overheating damage.
#2 Check Your Coolant
For a perfectly working cooling system, you need your coolant:
- to be mixed 50:50 with water (or whatever else your mechanic recommends for your usage);
- to be changed every two years or so;
- to be at the recommended levels found in your ATV’s manual.
Anything else, and your ATV will overheat constantly. In most cases, you will find that your coolant levels are too low, so you just top it off again. If you see spillage during your ride, then this is definitely a top priority for you.
#3 Check Your Fuel Mixture
Running a lean fuel mixture can often cause overheating and long-term damage to your ATV. Running rich or lean are very common ATV problems too, so it’s definitely worth a check.
I have a complete guide on how to check the condition of your fuel mixture, as well as how to fix it. I suggest you take a look if you haven’t yet found the culprit of your overheating problem.
#4 Check Your Water Pump and Head Gasket
Hopefully, you already found your solution and don’t need to change any parts. Still, a blown water pump or head gasket can often cause your quad to overheat as well. Check out these parts for leakage and change them accordingly.
After you’ve successfully found the issue with your four wheeler overheating, it’s time to prevent it from ever happening again.
If you continue to ride in harsh conditions, problems like a faulty radiator cap or a blown head gasket are going to keep appearing. You can add more protection with the four accessories I share with you below.
How Do I Prevent My Quad from Overheating?
There are obvious answers such as: don’t ride in extreme heat, or don’t put a lot of stress on your engine. But that’s no fun!
So instead, I’ll share the best four ATV updates that can improve your cooling system:
- Electrical radiator fan: This type of aftermarket fan is not an expensive upgrade, and it can really change the game. Just by reading the temperature on the screen, you will be aware of how hot your engine is running and you will be able to stop before any damage is done. Not to mention that it cools down your radiator much quicker and doesn’t rely on your fuel like its mechanical alternative.
- Aftermarket water pump: A water pump and impeller kit made for better coolant flow through your quad can only add to the efficiency of your cooling system. If you already need to change your water pump because it’s leaking, I would invest in an aftermarket variant.
- Coolant recovery tank: A simple bottle with a hose can make quite a difference. With this accessory, you can save up the spilled coolant from your radiator and keep it until it’s cooled off. Afterward, the system will suck up the mixture again and no coolant will be lost.
- High-pressure radiator cap: I mentioned this one above, but I have to include it here too. This is a pro’s solution to add an extra layer of protection to your engine by preventing the cooling mixture from boiling. This doesn’t make your engine run cooler though, it’s just a safety precaution for extreme and irreparable damage to your motor.
What Damage is Caused by Overheating Engine?
Depending on how hot your engine gets, overheating can destroy many parts. For instance, your piston rings can shatter, your pistons can crack, and they can eventually get melted on your cylinders. Other common results of overheating are blowing the head gasket, breaking the water pump, and melting the spark plug electrode straps.
Last but not least, you can experience detonation, also known as engine knocking. Detonation will result in damage in and of itself, such as erosion and rupture of the combustion chamber.
How Do I Stop My Dirt Bike from Overheating?
Much like on an ATV, a 4 stroke dirt bike overheating can be caused by: low coolant levels, blown head gasket, and water pump, faulty radiator cap, and a lean fuel mixture. If your machine shows signs of overheating problems, I would go through the same four steps of determining the cause as on a quad:
- Check your radiator
- Check your coolant
- Check your fuel mixture
- Check your water pump and head gasket
Finally, the accessories I talked about above can also be used on a dirt bike. Your off-road vehicle will thank you if you use a high-quality coolant as well!
Hopefully, everything I shared today will make you more confident to get behind the handlebar on hot days. Make sure to always check your radiator before you blast off on an exciting adventure, and keep an eye on that coolant level! Other than that, happy trail riding and good omens!
